A day at the beach

I shifted my feet through the sand, feeling the grains slip through my toes. The noon sun was shining down harshly, its rays bearing down on anyone foolish enough to venture out of the shade. My friends were strewn around me, each in varying reclined positions. They were chatting idly and making jokes. Their laughter drifted about me.

One of my friends passed me a sandwich enthusiastically. It was a tuna salad sandwich; my favourite.

The sea was calm, its surface shimmered enticingly. The water was pleasantly cool, especially given the day’s scorcing temperature. Floating in the salty water provided a nice sense of freedom, and of detachment. As I lay in the water, my friends passed a beach ball between them, laughing when someone missed and cheering whenever they successfully passed it.

It was a beautiful day, in the company of people I liked. By all accounts, I should have been enjoying myself.

But, the thought wandered into my mind before I could stop it…

“This is boring”.

As soon as that thought came to me, I just couldn’t deceive myself anymore. I invented an emergency and made my escape.

Alone in my room, with only the light from my monitor illuminating my room, with a video game controller clutched in my hands, I smiled for the first time that day.